Los Amigos Invisibles

Los Amigos Invisibles are among those rare underrated Latin bands that over the years have somehow stayed alternative, building an ever-larger cult following with each album and every show. They don't have the marquee draw of outfits such as Soda Stereo, and they don't need it — they still have their own mob of raving fans wherever they go.

Los Amigos broke out in their native Venezuela in 1995 with the debut album A Typical and Autoctonal Venezuelan Dance Band, six friends' reaction to what they considered a less than satisfactory music scene in Caracas. These days, they're based in New York but still continue their tradition of crossing boundries and breaking sonic barriers. They fuse funk, Latin, disco, dance, and acid jazz with an irrepressible wit to forge their unique sound, heard most recently on their 2008 disc, Super Pop Venezuela, Remixes. That featured fully retooled versions of the songs on their 2005 release of the same name — minus the word remixes, of course.